“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.”

Most things start out as an idea before it is put in to action. I have always been that person who would act on an idea. More so because I was always in search of an outcome. I wanted to know what would happen if I did this or if I didn’t do this. Always pushing the envelope.

As a child I knew that I wanted to be in control of my every move. I was a leader, never a follower. I always had my own way of doing things. I set myself away from the crowd. I like to observe others.

I always had a lot of ideas. Ideas of what I wanted to do to get to where I wanted to be in life. I always had a love for writing, business, and technology. I wanted to combine all of these things into one to create a successful entity. So, I thought why not brand yourself.

Everyone has something to bring to the table but it is all about how you serve it. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. Let me prove to you that you are more than the ideas you create. You are the spokesperson of your life.

“Writing isn’t something I choose to do. It is something I have to do. Too many thoughts consume my mental and keeping them confined would be suicide. Writing is my therapy.”

I started writing at a young age. Writing in my journal was an essential part of my day. It was something I kept sacred. My journal was like my bible. I would keep it under my pillow and write in it every chance I got. I remember rushing home from school just to write how my day went. It felt like the pages were speaking to me and I held on to every word.

Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” I knew I had a story to tell, I just didn’t know how the world would perceive it. I wasn’t ready to share my words yet, so I kept them tucked in my journal.

Through my love for reading I got introduced to my favorite poet/writer, Maya Angelou when I was in middle school. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. To have the ability to move people with my words. Now that was power to me.

I started studying the writing styles of Maya Angelou and other writers. I wanted to perfect my own style of writing. I was never good at writing fictional stories. I wanted people to feel the reality in my writing. Seems to me like not enough of us are telling our stories because we are too busy hiding behind someone else’s story.

I have learned so much about myself through my writing. Writing has the ability to release the happiness as well as the pain within you. Writing is therapeutic. I have gotten through a lot of hard times, just by writing my thoughts on a piece of paper. Life seems clearer when it is written. I can’t speak for everyone but writing is an essential part of my being.

“The best relationships are the best not because they have always been the happiest, but because they have stayed strong through the storm.”

I’m not an expert on relationships but I’ve been in a few. I can only give you my experience and what I have seen through my eyes. Relationships are not meant to be perfect. Anything inhumanely perfect will succumb to boredom. Disagreements are expected. Differences don’t destroy relationships. It is how you deal with the differences that matter. You should be able to talk to your partner about your innermost feelings and thoughts in a positive manner. An imperfect couple learns to enjoy each others differences and work together to create something special.

A relationship is a mirror of the two people who are in it. You can’t have a healthy relationship with your partner if you don’t have a healthy relationship with yourself. Loving yourself should be a giving because no one can love you more than you love yourself. I find that a lot of people seek relationships because they want someone to love them. A relationship shouldn’t fill a void that you lack within. Only you can create that magic.

Often people bring trust issues from past relationships into a new relationship. I have to admit that I have trust issues from previous relationships. Being hurt by someone you trust is sometimes hard to let go of sometimes. Is it fair to your new partner? No, unless they give you a reason not to trust them. I always go into a new relationship cautious of my trust issues. I give them my trust until they give me a reason not to trust them. Love can cause you to be blind to the truth. Never lose sight of reality but also never let love make a fool out of you. You can only allow people to do what is done to you.

“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I’ll rise!” ― Maya Angelou

Acceptance is an issue that a lot of people face from an adolescent into an adult. I can honestly say that it has never been an issue for me. At a young age I knew that I was different and I accepted that difference. I was a sheltered youth, I mainly sheltered myself. I was content with my books, pad and pen. I was aware of the things that were going on around me but I didn’t allow it to define me.

With the rise in suicide, I find that being accepted plays a major role in one’s everyday life. We are scrutinized by the media, our peers and as well as our family. I realized at a young age that I had a few strikes against me with being African American, a woman and a lesbian. Instead of making these things that were permanently parts of who I am stop me from progressing, I use them as tools to motivate me to prove society wrong. People and circumstances will occasionally break you down but you have to be the ultimate strength to overcome any negativity placed in front of you.

I find that acceptance is the answer to most problems that plaque us today. We sometimes give too much power to the opinions of others, when we should be our one and only critic. Too much criticism of self is also not healthy. We place too much inference on what society thinks we should be and not on what brings us peace. No one person is the same, so why should we conform to be like others. What is popular doesn’t define what is proper for us. Only you know what is right for you.

You have to remember that you are walking your own path. Forget what everyone else is doing and what others have to say about you. You have to do this in order to achieve what God has placed in front of you. Your life is about breaking your own limits to live a life that is best for you. No one has the power to take you away from your drive and commitment for life. Stop listening to what the world says you should want. Start listening to who you are. You are the beauty you see in others and the gift that you have left unopened. Acceptance begins with you.